Francisco Lindor shares eye-opening advice for Juan Soto’s early Mets career

Having enjoyed a superb 2024 season before signing the largest-ever contract in MLB history to join the New York Mets as a free agent in the offseason, fans naturally expected Juan Soto to hit the ground running at his new home this season.

However, things have not panned out that way. At the moment, Soto is batting .232, with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs, leaving many baffled as to why the man who was one of the finest players in the major leagues last year is unable to perform at his best.

Talking about Soto's struggles, his teammate, Francisco Lindor, had some encouraging advice for the Dominican, as reported by Deesha Thosar of FOX Sports.

"If there's one thing that I could say, it's to stay the course," Lindor said. "It's not so much about going crazy and trying to give them what they want. Just continue to stay the course. Continue to be yourself. Continue to be Juan Soto. Continue to be that little kid that wants to be a baseball player."

New York Mets v Los Angeles Dodgers - Source: Getty

Soto's situation is one that Lindor has been through as well. In his first season as a Met, Lindor finished with only a .230 batting average, 20 home runs and 63 RBIs, far and away his worst ever season as a hitter.

However, as he gradually got used to life in Queens, his performances got increasingly consistent, and he is probably the team's most influential player at the moment.

Francisco Lindor talks how Juan Soto's temperament makes him a 'fantastic teammate'

In the same interview, Francisco Lindor goes on to talk about Juan Soto's temperament and how it enhances his qualities as a teammate.

"He's always been very to himself, very quiet," Lindor said. "He listens more than he actually talks. He's more of a quiet person and he's a fantastic teammate. He's always doing his stuff to get better, to be the same person.

"So a guy like that, you don't really have to say much. He's the perfect teammate because you don't have to worry about him. He's going to go out there and do his thing."

As the season goes on, fans hope the trust the Mets placed in Juan Soto eventually pays off, as the team aims to win the NL East and challenge for the World Series come October.

About the author

Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge.

One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema.

Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.

Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college.

Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.

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Edited by Krutik Jain